Heart of The Matter
by regolithheart
Summary: A post-Winter Wolflet two-shot / Wolf sighed and slumped into the arm chair. He had to admit to himself that the transition from life on the Rampion to Benoit Farms had been difficult for him—something he never expected.
1. PART I

**AN:** A big thanks to **Cx3** and **lettered** for being wonderful betas.

* * *

 **PART I**

 _The glowing light began to fade and his lungs burned as the wind whipped around him. He was racing through the woods, howls and laughter chasing him, branches and leaves reaching out to scratch at his clammy skin. He could feel his pulse pounding in his ears, but he shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He needed desperately to reach that warm, glowing light … or did he need to distance himself from the cruel and rough barks behind him? He shook his head again, hoping that the confusion would dislodge itself. As he pushed forward, he realized that each new step felt heavier, slower. He let out a growl and surged forward as the yellow light flickered orange and a red glow pulsed deep from its center._

 _His running practically became a crawl, and his feet felt like anvils as he dragged them along the dry forest floor. As the red glow flickered, he heard a distant, tinkling laughter. Unlike the cruel snarls behind him, this laughter was warm. Familiar. Twinkling eyes like pools of warm caramel danced in front of him. A flash of fiery red curls. He reached out for the girl, not knowing if his hand would even catch anything. The vision flickered in front of him and disappeared with the light. Again, he reached out._

 _Not realizing his anvil feet had halted him in his tracks, he stumbled forward and fell hard onto the ground. The howls and jeers that he was trying to outrun grew closer and closer, circling around him. His eyes darted into the woods, searching for the animals closing in, but there was nothing except tall, dark trees and their bare branches. His gaze drew up into the ink black sky; a silver white moon loomed above. Unable to tear his gaze away, the trees bent towards him and the branches reached down and began to tear at his skin, like claws._

* * *

Wolf's body jerked awake before his mind could, and sat up feeling disoriented. Without realizing, he reached out to feel the familiar form next to him, but his hand clasped only air. His heart lurched into his throat when he saw that Scarlet wasn't sleeping next to him.

His panic intensified when he realized the house was too still. Too quiet. He lunged out of the bed, muscles tense and ready to race down the stairs when he heard the muffled voice. Edging towards the window and peering out, he let out a sigh of relief when he saw Scarlet's red curls glowing under the porch light. Wolf ran both hands through his hair. The muscles in his back tightened, shook, and then eased. He took a step back towards the bed, but his curiosity took a hold of him and he pushed himself against the window, nudging it open soundlessly. The cool night air curved its way into the room, bringing Scarlet's voice along with it.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight."

The glow of the port screen in Scarlet's hand faded and she turned to go inside. Wolf took three long strides and settled back under the covers before he could even hear Scarlet's footsteps ascending the stairs. The door clicked open and she tiptoed into the room. Wolf could tell by her labored steps that she was trying her hardest to not make a sound. He tried to pretend that he was still sleeping, but when she rustled under the covers he tilted his head up and looked at her.

Sheepishly she ducked her head. "Sorry!" she whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you. I went downstairs for some water." She reached over and patted his arm before settling under the covers. Her breathing fell into a steady rhythm almost instantly.

Wolf reached over, but before he could wrap his arm around her and pull her against his body, he stopped himself. Why had she lied to him? Was she keeping secrets from him?

Wolf lay on his side, silently watching Scarlet sleep. Her chest rose up and down as her steady breathing lulled him into calmness. He reached over to brush a stray curl away from her face. She frowned. Normally this would have made him chuckle. He was used to the familiar gesture. But tonight, it made him sigh and turn away.

* * *

 _The clawing black branches grew thicker, closed in on him, tore at his flesh, buried themselves into his veins. A burst of blue light engulfed him and he was transported._

 _He felt weightless. Suspended in air. But he wasn't floating in air; he was floating in a thick blue liquid. The tree branches that burrowed their way into his skin were now thick, clear tubes, sprouting out of his arms, his legs, his chest. His whole body ached. All of his muscles felt tight, strained, even though he was lying motionless—frozen—in the suspension tube. His whole face throbbed. His eyes darted around him, and then he saw her. Waves of red hair floating above him, dark eyes looking into his. He waited for the wave of relief to flush over him, but it didn't come. Something was wrong. She was wrong. Her hair wasn't a fiery red that set his heart ablaze. It was much darker, almost like blood dried into the forest floor. And those eyes … There was nothing warm or gentle about those eyes. They were dark, nearly black, and bored into him so deeply, so cruelly. He flinched, cowering away. Levana._

* * *

Wolf's eyes fluttered open for the second time that morning, but this time instead of darkness, the warm glow of sunlight flooded the room. For the second time he reached out to feel Scarlet next to him, and for the second time she was gone.

He grabbed a grey shirt hanging on the armchair next to the window, still open from the night before, and pulled it over his head. Looking back towards the bed, he thought maybe he was grateful Scarlet was already up. The sheets and quilts that they shared were a tangle of twists and knots on his side of the bed. Had he thrashed around in the middle of the night? Had he woken her up and drove her away from him?

Wolf sighed and slumped into the arm chair. He had to admit to himself that the transition from life on the Rampion to Benoit Farms had been difficult for him—something he never expected. He pushed both hands through his hair and pulled them forward again, running them down his face to try and wipe the exhaustion away. Wolf didn't want to admit it, but he was happy on the Rampion. He had even been happy at Artemisia Palace even though their time there had been brief. But maybe, _maybe_ , he wasn't happy at Benoit Farms.

Scowling at himself, he stood up. He was being absurd. He would be happy anywhere Scarlet was and Scarlet was happy here.

Wolf reached the bottom of the stairs and looked around the silent kitchen before his eyes fell onto a note scrawled with loopy red handwriting.

 _Z,_

 _Running some errands in town. Taking grand-mère's mirror in to be replaced. Will be back this afternoon. Food in the oven for you._

 _Love,_

 _Scarlet_

He smirked at Scarlet's no-nonsense note, but a pang of guilt gripped his heart. Absentmindedly, he ran his fingers over the criss-cross lines of scratches scabbing over along the knuckles of his right hand. The memory of shattered glass and mirror returned to him. He had been so foolish.

The night they returned to Benoit Farms, Wolf had been on edge. He had gotten so used to the constant hum of the Rampion's engine under his feet and in his ears that the silence of a farm at night shocked him. Everything was so quiet that any little noise that broke it was like a gunshot in his ears—the chickens clucking, the distant meow of a stray cat, even the patter of Scarlet's footsteps in the house.

Scarlet called out to him from the kitchen and eager to be near her, he rushed towards the back of the house. That was when he saw it and it took him completely by surprise. A flash of pointed white teeth, a protruding jaw, wild hair. He instantly lunged towards it, his fist rocketing forward and smashing into the creature's face. The mirror cracked into a hundred pieces under his rock solid fist and the silver frame came crashing down.

He stood there—glass and mirror littered the floor around him—his horror reflecting Scarlet's. He apologized profusely, agony all over his face as Scarlet gingerly pulled him away and bandaged up his hand. Her touch was gentle, her voice soothing. She pressed her lips against each cut on his hand and the pain dulled away.

She insisted that he go to bed while she cleaned up the mess. He wanted to argue, but he knew to keep his mouth shut when she placed her hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow at him. He lay in bed, fidgeting with his bandage, waiting for Scarlet to come up, but she never did. He crept downstairs and saw her sitting on the floor with her face in her hands. Silent sobs racking her body. Broken pieces of mirror still scattered all around her.

He picked her up, pulled her firm against his body as she cried, and carried her up to bed. In her utter state of despair, through muffled cries, she told him that the mirror had belonged to her grand-mère and her grand-mère before that, and her grand-mère before that. A second era heirloom. Seeing the pain in his eyes, she reached up to place a hand on his cheek. She assured him that she didn't care about the mirror. She just missed her grand-mère.

That night he stroked her hair until she fell asleep, still wrapped in his arms. Then the nightmares began.


	2. PART II

**PART II**

 _The thick, clear tubes protruding out of his skin began to snake around his limbs. They pulled his arms away from his torso, exposing his bare chest and neck. He was no longer encased in the suspension tube, but he could feel the thick syrupy liquid of the tube clinging to his body and hair. Or was it blood? He smelled blood._

 _Levana's rigid figure loomed over him. She was saying something to him, but he couldn't make out the words. All he could hear was his own pulse throbbing in his ears as his restraints tightened, cutting into his skin. As she spoke she became more and more infuriated. He growled at her, made to lunge for her. He felt his muscles straining at his attempts to move, but his body stood frozen. Levana began to scream, her words still loss to him. Her eyes flashed a murderous red and then she reached out and began clawing at him. Her fingernails, sharpened to points, ripped at the skin on his chest. Blood began streaming down her forearms, spraying her clothes and face, and she still ripped at his body. His body kicked and buckled at the pain but there was nothing he could do to stop her. When he thought there could be no more flesh for her to rip, she reached inside his chest and pulled out a lumpy, black mass._

 _She squeezed the lump in her hand and he felt his heart twist in pain, but he didn't feel it in his chest. He felt the pain outside of himself. Levana squeezed again and he felt the pain shoot throughout his entire body. The tubes holding him upright suddenly disappeared and he collapsed onto his knees. Too weak to do anything else, he hunched over himself and began to shake. He could feel Levana's shadow looming over him, growing darker and darker, snuffing out the eerie white light around him. He closed his eyes, ready for her to take him, but the blackness didn't come._

 _Instead, he felt a warmness on his face and the inside of his eyelids glowed. He cracked his eyes open and saw that familiar pulsing light that he was chasing in the woods. It was warm and yellow and made the pain in his body ease. The light grew warmer and brighter and Levana's figure cowered away. Soon they were both engulfed in that yellow light and he felt his heartbeat loud and strong. He still felt it outside of himself, but with each beat he felt his body grow stronger, the pain flushing away._

 _He looked down at his chest and saw that the flesh was whole. His skin, although marked with faded scars, showed none of the torture Levana had inflicted on him just moments before. Then he heard the sweet, familiar laughter. Distant at first, it grew closer, stronger. The familiar pulsing red light also returned, but whereas before it had been small and weak, now it was strong and growing, almost blinding. The red light flashed wildly around them and that was when he heard Levana for the first time. Her screech was earsplitting and made his blood run cold, but as intense as it was, it disappeared right away. He looked up to search for her, but all he saw was a mist of white fading quickly, like fog being burned up by the sun._

 _He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and whipped his head around. Looking back at him were those familiar caramel eyes that made him weak in the knees, the soft lips that made his own tremble, and the fiery red curls that made his heart pound. But now, he couldn't feel his heart pounding. His chest felt light, like it was empty and hollow. Like it was no longer filled with lungs, or tissue, or his beating heart. Panic rose up in him, but the beautiful girl only smiled at him._

 _She reached up and brushed the lightest touch of her fingers across each of his eyebrows, moving down the bridge of his nose. His instinct was to flinch, but her touch was so soothing, so he let her. Her fingertips outlined his lips, and dragged down his chin, his neck, and then down to his chest. She laid her hand flat against his chest and he felt it fill with warmness, as if she were pouring sunshine directly into him. He looked down and saw that pulsing red glow again, and then not only could he see it, he could feel it. He could feel it against his skin, then seeping into him, and then he felt it inside of him. He felt the pulsing slow down and beat in a soft, steady rhythm, and he felt the hollowness disappear._

* * *

Before Wolf could pull the girl into his arms, he jerked awake and sent chickens scattering around him. Momentarily disoriented, he looked around to find himself sunken in a pile of hay inside the Benoit Farms' barn. He had come out there to escape from the deafening silence of the farmhouse. He preferred the random animal noises and the chickens helped to distract him … almost.

He must have fallen asleep for quite some time. Looking past the opened barn doors, he could see the sunlight taking on a golden glow. How late was it? And where was Scarlet?

Scarlet.

His heart lurched for her. He could admit to himself that it hadn't been only the silence of the house that drove him out to the barn, but her lingering scent in every pillow, every chair, every room. Not being able to touch her and pull her into his arms, he felt like he was surrounded by her ghost. Memories of the same agony he felt when Scarlet was kidnapped and taken to Luna clawed at him.

He ran his hands over his face, tousling his hair. _Scarlet. Scarlet. Scarlet._

As if his thoughts had summoned her, he heard her voice faintly in the distance, calling out his name. He rushed over to the entrance of the barn and stopped in his tracks.

She was barefoot and wearing a light blue cotton dress that fell a couple of inches above her knees. The wind picked up and whipped the skirt and her hair around her. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and his whole body ached for her.

"Ze'ev!" she called out again, not spotting him yet.

Unable to speak, he rushed towards her. Her head whipped around at the noise and her gaze fell upon him. Her whole face lit up. Hit by her beauty, he came crashing down on his knees in front of her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his cheek against her stomach.

She let out a surprised laugh and ran her hands through his wild hair.

"Ze'ev." Her voice became a sigh.

He pressed her even closer to him and losing, her balance, she sank onto her knees in front of him, cupping his face into her hands.

"Scarlet. Scarlet. Scarlet. Scarlet." His voice trembled, muttering her name like a prayer.

Scarlet's warm eyes darkened with concern as she looked at him. The pad of her thumb running against Wolf's cheek jolted him and he pulled her even closer if that were possible.

Scarlet's voice was gentle. "Ze'ev, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing." He reassured her, holding her tight.

Scarlet pulled away, her lips pressed into a thin line, but after seeing the torment in his eyes her expression softened. "Something is wrong. Please, tell me."

He buried his face into her hair and the words flooded out of him.

"Scarlet. I'm sorry. I'm so, so, sorry. I haven't been myself, but I don't even know what that is anymore. I'm so terrified all the time. Terrified of myself, terrified that I might lose control, terrified that I might make you unhappy. Terrified that you _are_ unhappy. Scarlet, I want to give you everything, be everything for you … but all I am right now is broken. I just—I—"

Wolf's eyes welled up with tears. He couldn't remember that last time he cried. He didn't even know that he was able to cry anymore, assuming that the scientists on Luna would have deemed it unnecessary for special operatives to cry.

Before he could stumble on his words anymore, Scarlet pressed her lips against his, the tenderness of the kiss unraveling him further. She stood up, pulling him with her and holding his hand tightly in hers.

"Follow me."

She led him towards the front of the house. In the months that he had been at Benoit Farms, he had never used the front door. The kitchen door was much more convenient since it opened out to the fields and led to the hanger and barn beyond.

He kept his gaze focused on the back of Scarlet's head and she led him up the porch steps. They were only an arm's length away but his whole body tingled, desperately wanting to close the space between them. To feel the softness of her under his touch. To hold her and never let go. He would never let go.

They stepped into the living room, the setting sun engulfed them in amber light. Scarlet squeezed Wolf's hand and turned, smiling to him.

"Do you notice anything different?" Her eyes lit up mischievously.

Wolf scanned the room, his senses tingling around him. He stopped as his eyes rested on Michelle Benoit's mirror, but it wasn't a mirror anymore. The thick silver frame with its delicately carved leaves and acorns no longer held a mirror, but framed a pressing of blue daisies—the daisies that had once belonged to his mother, the only thing he wanted from Luna, the ones he had given to Scarlet. She had kept them in a glass of water on her nightstand while they were at Artemisia Palace and the night before they left on the Rampion to return to Earth, they pressed them carefully in a small book of children's stories that Winter had given Scarlet, one of her most prized possessions.

He never knew what happened to them, since he had never seen the book again. He edged closer to the pressed flowers, running his fingers delicately across them.

"Do you like it?" Scarlet's voice was soft.

Wolf turned to look at her. Her sheepishness surprised him.

"I want you to feel like this is your home, but I was starting to get worried that you weren't happy here. I want you to be happy here … with me."

Wolf reached over to cup her face in his hand.

Scarlet closed her eyes and let herself nuzzle her cheek against his palm before her eyes fluttered open again.

"There's one more thing!" Excitement bubbled in her voice.

She pulled him to the kitchen sink and positioned him in front of it. He stood peering out the window and a spot of blue caught his eye. He looked down to see a window box overflowing with blue daisies.

Wolf looked at Scarlet to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. Her beaming smile was contagious. He ran out the back door to examine the flowers closer, Scarlet close on his heels. He brushed his hand over the top of the flowers and they swayed under his fingers.

"But … how?"

Scarlet came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his body, pressing her cheek against his shoulder blade.

"It definitely wasn't an easy task!" Scarlet laughed into his shoulder, "But it helps that we're friends with the queen of Luna! It also helps that the Queen's cousin can make her expert pilot of a boyfriend do pretty much anything she asks. He wasn't exactly happy about it, but Jacin delivered them to me this afternoon in Rieux."

Wolf stood there, stunned. Cinder … Winter … _Jacin_?! And blue daisies all the way from Luna …

He grabbed her hands, resting gently on his stomach and pulled them up to his lips, kissing each knuckle and the tips of her fingers.

"You're amazing, you know that?" He breathed into her hands. "I don't … _deserve_ you."

Wolf heard Scarlet scoff before she tugged at her hands to turn him towards her. He stood there, facing her, watching as the last of the sunset washed over her face. She nuzzled her nose against the bottom of his chin. Familiar with the gesture, he tilted his head down towards her, kissing each of her closed eyelids, the tip of her nose, and her perfect, soft lips.

Scarlet laced her fingers around the back of Wolf's neck as she pushed herself closer to him. The evening breeze picked up and made the hairs on his arms stand on end. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him, her wild hair whipping around both of them, and then he felt it. A warmness washing over him, pulsing—burning a warm red—first in his wrists, then up his arm, along his shoulders, in his chest, in his heart.

When their kiss finally broke, Wolf littered Scarlet's face with soft brushes of his lips before burying his face into her hair. She smelled like lavender and lemons.

After what felt like an eternity, Wolf pulled away just enough to look into Scarlet's eyes again. They twinkled so bright, it was almost blinding. The brightest light. His alpha star. Before he could muster up any words, she leaned in close to him again and whispered into his ear, the words that he had spoken to her what felt like a lifetime ago, as they floated among the stars, and he knew they were true.

"You're the only one, Ze'ev. You'll always be the only one."

* * *

 **AN:** I hope you liked the story. Again, big thanks to **Cx3** and **lettered** for being amazing betas. Please review!


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